The day after five Black Lives Matter demonstrators were shot near the Minneapolis police precinct where they were protesting — sparking a national uproar — police had three men in custody in connection with the case.

In brief statements Tuesday, police said they had arrested a 23-year-old white man in Bloomington about 11:20 a.m., and, less than an hour later, a 32-year-old Hispanic man in his vehicle in South Minneapolis.

Police later released the Hispanic man, saying he was not at the scene of the shooting.

But later Tuesday, two more men, described as white and ages 26 and 21, turned themselves in and were being held, police said.

Police refused to release the names of those arrested, saying they would do so if the men were charged. However, Minnesota law requires law enforcement agencies to release the names of suspects if they are arrested, not when they are charged.

While it was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, several racially disparaging comments had been posted on social media in recent days. And organizers of the Black Lives Matter protest said they had previously kicked out counterprotesters they believed to be white supremacists.

Protesters have been demonstrating in front of the Minneapolis Police Departments’s 4th Precinct, on the city’s North Side, since the Nov. 15 fatal shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark during an attempted arrest by two police officers. The case is the latest in a national controversy over police shootings of black men.

None of the Minneapolis protesters suffered life-threatening injuries in the Monday night shooting, which happened at 10:40 p.m. in the area of 1400 Morgan Avenue North, just down the street from the 4th Precinct.

THE SHOOTING

Henry Habu, who said he has been providing security for protesters, said he and others approached four white people who were standing under a “Justice4Jamar” sign to ask what they were doing there. The group was composed of three men and one woman, with three of them wearing masks that left their eyes exposed.

“We’re here for Jamar,” one said, according to Habu.

Habu said they tried to escort the four from the scene and they took off running. Habu said he did not see the shooting that followed, but heard it.

“It happened so fast,” he said.

Oluchi Omeoga witnessed the shooting and said a handful of protesters followed three men in masks to a street corner, where the men pulled out weapons and began firing.

Alexander Dewan Apprentice Clark, who said he chased the attackers, said one of the men fell and when Clark helped him up, he felt what he believed to be a bulletproof vest under the man’s clothing.

Two people were shot in the leg, another in the arm and a fourth in the stomach, said Mica Grimm, an organizer with Black Lives Matter who said she arrived on the scene soon after the shooting.

PROTESTERS’ RESOLVE

In a statement released early Tuesday through U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison’s office, Clark’s family thanked protesters for their “incredible support” but asked, in light of the shootings, that the demonstration outside the precinct offices end and protesters move “onto the next step.”

Clark’s family has also called for an end to the demonstrations.

Protesters, who have been camped outside the precinct for more than a week, insisted they will not leave. They called a news conference to announce that they would “not bow to fear” or “intimidation” after the shootings.

One of the wounded protesters returned to the scene. Wesley Martin was walking with a cane after being hit in the left leg. He said he remembers chasing the masked men, then getting shot and being put in an ambulance. But he recalls little else.

He said his 19-year-old brother, Tevin, was wounded in the stomach and was in intensive care but was expected to recover.

Some protesters criticized the police response time and said officers arrived in full riot gear. Officers aggressively pushed back on the crowd, some said, at one point using a chemical irritant to keep people back.

INVESTIGATION

Authorities have said Clark was shot once in the head during a struggle with two officers after he interfered with paramedics who were trying to assist a woman whom Clark allegedly assaulted. But some people who said they saw the police shooting say Clark was handcuffed.

Police have disputed that. And an attorney for one of the officers involved in the shooting says Clark was not handcuffed, went for an officer’s weapon and “had manual control” of that officer’s gun.

Protesters and Clark’s family have called for investigators to release video of the shooting. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it has video from an ambulance, a mobile police camera and other sources, but none of the footage shows the event in its entirety. The agency, which is conducting a state investigation, said releasing the footage now would compromise its investigation.

Gov. Mark Dayton said he has seen video taken by the ambulance’s camera and on Monday said he thought it was inconclusive.

The FBI is also conducting an investigation into Clark’s death after Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges asked for a federal review of the matter.

Meanwhile, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said it will be up to a grand jury to decide whether to bring charges against officers in Clark’s death.

Freeman issued a statement Tuesday after repeated requests by black activist groups to make the decision himself rather than go to a grand jury. Protesters have complained that grand juries are unlikely to indict police officers.

Clark’s funeral will be held at noon Wednesday at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis. Visitation begins at 10 a.m. at the church.

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